Texas capturing survivor credit slain retailer employee who hid consumers in closet
A mom-of-two who survived the Texas mall shooting has emotionally recalled how a gross sales affiliate hid her and 12 others inside a retailer toilet – however later misplaced her life within the massacre.
Raquel Lee mentioned she determined to buy groceries Saturday on the Allen Premium Retailers in Allen and parked exterior of the H&M retailer shortly earlier than Mauricio Garcia, 33, drove up and opened fireplace with an AR-15-style rifle, killing eight folks and wounding seven others, CBS News Texas reported.
“It seemed like a struggle zone,” Lee advised the information outlet. “It was horrifying and it felt such as you have been in a dream. Like, simply shock.”
Lee shared chilling video of the group sheltering in place contained in the storage room, the place they’re seen making frantic cellphone calls and sitting on the ground.
“We have been in a rest room closet, and we have been simply within the closet attempting not be heard, crying, praying — folks have been attempting to name 911. We couldn’t dial out,” the visibly emotional lady mentioned.
“I simply bear in mind pondering, ‘Oh god! He’s coming in right here subsequent.’ I used to be crouching down like ‘I hope we don’t get hit by a bullet,” Lee advised the outlet in regards to the harrowing expertise.
“The shop affiliate saved our lives,” she added.
The footage she captured exhibits the group lastly being led out of the room with their fingers up after police cleared the bloody scene.
Lee mentioned one of many our bodies she noticed was that of the heroic retailer worker.
Two of the useless victims have been recognized as 20-year-old safety guard Christian LaCour and Aishwarya Thatikonda, an engineer from India who was residing and dealing in Texas.
The feds are investigating whether or not Garcia, who was shot useless by a police officer, held neo-Nazi views.
In the course of the rampage, Garcia wore a patch on his chest with the acronym “RWDS” which stands for “Proper Wing Loss of life Squad” – a preferred phrase amongst white-supremacy teams, a regulation enforcement official advised The Related Press.